9. Chapter 9

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"How much did you hear?" Lyra looked panicked, it kind of scared Lemy. Cautious or suspicious he saw a lot, but not panicked. He couldn't stay defiant when he saw her like that.

"Everything." Instead of sounding tough, his voice was small and cracked. He'd gotten up as soon as he'd heard their uncle come in. At first he'd just been intending to game. One of the single player games was pretty hard and Lemy had almost given up on it, but his uncle would glance back and drop helpful hints like 'there's a secret chest there' or 'he's weak to that weapon'. So he'd try and play that game when his uncle didn't seem too into his work.

He'd gotten up and made it into the hallway quietly since Lyra hadn't fully closed the door, only to stop when he heard his uncle mention Lacy. He'd listened in on the girls' conversation last night (which wasn't creepy at all, really), so he was curious. Personally, he thought Lacy was being stupid, but he still wanted to hear what his uncle would say. And he'd heard every word both of them had said.

He wasn't sure what to make of most of it. He'd heard Lyra talking bad about mom, but this time he wasn't feeling like letting it slide. Lyra thought she did more than mom? Yeah right! But…what did she mean during that talk about dads when she said he was still her brother? He always had been.

…Hadn't he?

He barely understood any of it. He wanted to be angry, but his sister was freaking him out. What was she so scared of? Even now he could see her biting her bottom lip.

"Lemy…" She started to say. Down the hall, Lemy saw his uncle as the man was making his way to the kitchen. He must've caught sight of them out of the corner of his vision, because he turned to look at them both. He seemed confused to see them there.

"Guys?" Lyra jumped a little when he spoke. Then he took a step towards them.

"Back off." Lemy warned, and his uncle stopped uneasily. He may not have understood a lot of their conversation, but he understood his uncle was the reason they were here in the first place. Just for that, he'd already lost his cool status. If mom wanted them to go somewhere, fine. But if someone wanted to pull them away from her? Screw that.

No sooner had he said that did Lyra scoop him right off the ground and carry him into the bedroom. "Just give us a few minutes!" She called back into the hallway, using her foot to close the door behind them. She took a seat on the edge of the bed, holding him in her lap. After a moment, Lyra sighed.

"I'm sorry you overheard that." She told him.

"You're not better than mom." He snapped, turning around to face her. He wasn't sure why he blurted that out first. Maybe it was the easiest to approach. He could feel her flinch as he said it.

"I never said I was." She answered his accusation quietly. "I told you, Lemy: I love mom just like you do even though she gets on my nerves." He turned back to face the wall. That answer was a cop out.

"She's better than you'll ever be." That shut her up, but a little too well. Lemy suddenly felt a little guilty, and he lost the courage to look back and see her face. "But you're pretty cool too." He added quietly. After a nearly unbearable silence, his sister spoke again.

"When I said those things, it was because I miss mom just like you do."

"You said you're better than her."

"No I didn't." She refuted again calmly, quietly.

"You said…" Lemy stopped to think and realized he was wrong. What his sister had actually said was that maybe she'd done more to take care of him than mom had. He was stumped

What she said was probably true. He couldn't clearly remember the last time mom had been the one to put him to bed. Mom bought them food on the road, but Lyra was the one to make him food otherwise. She usually helped him with the homeschool work too. She did do a lot of work.

But why did she say that while she was complaining about mom? Yeah, Lyra took care of him, but she was his sister and sisters were supposed to do that. While he was silently racking his brain, she kept talking.

"I'm sure you're confused about what you heard. I don't expect you to understand it…but everything's fine, Lemy. There's nothing to worry about." He was definitely confused. But he was angry too.

"You were complaining about mom again." He knew he hadn't misheard that. "You said she was stupid!"

"I said I didn't think she was stupid." She raised her voice slightly.

"You said 'stupid enough'!" Lemy shot back. He felt her flinch again. "You're wrong. You're both wrong." Their uncle had even agreed with her! "Mom's awesome."

"Lemy…" His sister sighed. "There are just some things I can't explain to you yet. Just trust me when I say it's nothing to worry about. Just please forget those things I said." He almost did. A part of him did want to drop everything, but another part didn't. He was still confused and wanted answers.

"You guys were talking about dads." As soon as he said it he heard his sister inhale and felt her put her arms around him. He tried to think of what to say next, because he had so many questions about it. He'd never cared about it, but it was hard not to after what he'd heard, mainly because nothing about it matched what he'd previously thought. Finally, he asked about the thing that had bothered him most.

"Why did you say I was still your brother?" He implication that he wasn't, or that she wasn't his sister, even for a little bit of time struck a chord with him. It just went too much against one of the core things in his life. Something he'd never questioned.

"You are my brother." She hugged him closer. "You always have been, every day since the day God blessed mom and me by putting you on his earth. And you always will be, no matter what."

"So what did you mean then?" He asked. He didn't want to drop this subject, not yet. "What did all that mean? How do we have different dads?" When she didn't answer, he looked over his shoulder to see her blushing and looking scared again. She really was acting different today.

"Well…" She finally said when he started staring. "It takes a boy and a girl to have a child. Don't ask how." She added suddenly. Lemy knew the first part, but not the second. He didn't want an answer on that right now anyway. "And while a person should commit to one other person for the rest of their lives, they don't always do." She took a deep breath.

"Mom…fell in love with a man and had me. Then he left her. A few years later she fell in love with a different man and had you. And he left all of us. But like I told our uncle, it's not important Lemy." She looked him in the eyes. "It's far more important that we have the same mother. It's more important that we're a family together with mom. That we haven't been apart a day in our lives. That's what makes us brother and sister; That's all that matters. Do you understand?" She asked hopefully.

Did he? He'd always thought they had a dad that had just left. And if what she said was true, they both did. So then why was it when he'd asked Lyra or mom about it, they spoke like it was one guy instead of two? Whenever he heard her pray before bed she'd even say 'our father'. He asked that next.

"Because when you asked, you were too young. I still think you are now." He turned away from her again in frustration. What did age have to do with anything? Now that he heard it, it seemed obvious since Lyra had to have been around for a few years before he was there.

Actually…

"Wait, did you know who my dad was?" He asked. Lyra was six years older than him. So she had to have been about six when he was born. And before he was born mom would've been pregnant with him. Lemy could remember stuff from when he was that young, so Lyra could too.

"No." She sighed. "I can't remember back that far."

"But you were only six when I was born. I can remember when I was six." Lemy thought she might be lying to him.

"It gets harder to remember the older you get." She explained. "If I did see him, I don't remember." That made sense, he guessed.

"Fine." Lemy decided. "I don't care. About my dad or yours. They both suck." Lemy had always thought their old man had just walked out. And he was still right. He could keep his previous opinion.

"Yes, Lemy." His sister seemed relieved. "Just don't think about it." He wouldn't, just like he hadn't before. It wasn't worth it. Lemy was feeling pretty good and reassured. He'd even forgotten what he'd been angry about before. But their conversation wasn't over. After a moment, Lyra spoke to him again.

"Why'd you snap at our uncle?" Now she asked him a question. Lemy knew why he did, but suddenly he thought he'd look stupid if he said it out loud. Lyra kept talking while he stayed silent. "He's just trying to be nice to us, Lemy, there's no reason to be mean."

"I wanted to go with mom on tour." He didn't sound convincing even to himself.

"Haven't you been having fun here?" She asked.

"Yeah." He admitted. "But I thought we were here because mom wanted us to be, not because he asked her. It's weird." He decided to expand on that statement. "He's weird. And Lacy's weird too. I heard what you guys were talking about."

"Did you?" She asked suspiciously, and Lemy suddenly realized he'd incriminated himself. But she didn't dwell on it long. "What's weird about it?"

"We don't know him." Lemy may not have had any experience with dads, but he knew they were supposed to be close. So to have someone just randomly come in your life and start trying to be close? Yeah, that was pretty weird.

"I knew him from when I was little." Lyra corrected him. "And there's nothing wrong with getting to know new people."

"It's just weird." Lemy insisted. "Who wants to do stuff like that?"

"He just wants to be helpful."

"We don't need help. We're fine." That's what he honestly thought. He didn't know if his other cousins were the same, but he didn't get why Lacy seemed to like the idea so much; she seemed happy any other time. Lyra lifted him and sat him sideways on her lap so she could look at him while she kept talking.

"I know how much you love mom, Lemy. But please, just think for a moment how nice it would be if there was someone else who wanted to help take care of you. Like I told Lacy, it's normal-"

"We don't need another person." He cut her off.

"You don't need video games." She responded surprisingly quick. "But they're nice to have, aren't they?" He saw the logic she was making. He saw it, but still didn't like it.

"We already have mom. I think that's enough. If you want to hate her, fine." His mind worked, and suddenly a new argument popped into his head. "You said you take care of me as much as mom does!" He pointed at her accusingly. "I already got two people taking care of me, so why do I need another?" He challenged her.

The two stared at each other, Lemy defiant and Lyra looking earnest but a little disappointed.

"Okay." His sister sighed and moved him from her lap to the bed space beside her. "I understand if you don't like the idea. I won't force you to come around." Wait, was he winning an argument with his sister? She stood up. "Just please don't be rude to her uncle over this."

"…I won't." Lemy finally said, still kind of stunned he'd won the argument. Their uncle didn't talk much anyway; Lemy thought he could avoid trouble just as long as he didn't speak to him.

"Come out whenever you're ready and I'll make you some breakfast, okay?" She really was dropping the matter completely.

"I will." Lemy said quietly. Lyra got up and left, leaving Lemy to think to himself.

Lemy stayed in the room for the rest of the day. His sister eventually brought him food but didn't try and talk to him. He didn't do it to be difficult, just because he didn't want to talk to anyone. And man, was it boring. It was probably the first time he'd ever fallen asleep before 7.

The next morning was weird. His sister kept watching him while he was trying to eat. Even his uncle noticed what she was doing. Lemy wondered if they'd talked at all yesterday after the talk he had with Lyra. Things had gotten weirder after breakfast- Lyra asked if he wanted to go to church with her. It was a Sunday, although Lemy didn't keep up with the days of the week very often.

He told her no. He didn't care about that stuff and just wanted to stay here. So then she decided she wasn't going to go at all, and he got irritated because she was doing it just because of him. But then she saw that and decided to go by herself anyway!

Man, girls were weird.

It was just another lazy day, although one he started it watching tv rather than video games. They could get boring, he admitted. Just like every day before, his uncle was working at his desk. Why'd he even want them to stay if he wasn't going to do anything? And how bad did that pay if he had to do so much? Mom could play once a month and be set. She did most her shows just for fun.

It was just before eleven and Lemy was contemplating dragging himself up from the couch to play some video games instead when he noticed his uncle rise from his seat and stretch. "I think I'll walk down to Flip's and get some snacks. You want to come along?" He offered.

Lemy was immediately suspicious, hard not to be after what he'd heard. But he would like some snacks; almost all the food in the house for meals. What was the worst that could happen? He talked Lyra into backing down yesterday (even if he still felt kind of bad about it), so he thought he could probably talk his uncle down, make him not bother.

"I guess." He hopped off the couch and went to go grab his shoes and some of the money mom had sent them here with. His uncle was still stretching when he got back in the living room and they left.

"How bad does your job pay if you gotta work all day?" He decided to voice his thoughts as they started walking. It'd be a short journey, only down the stairs and down the street.

"It doesn't pay that bad, actually." If he recognized his nephews veiled insult, he didn't say it. "I can get 30 bucks easy for pictures I can do in only a few hours. I can make a over a hundred a day if I have enough customers" Over 100 a day? For doing some drawings?

"So how come you aren't like aunt Lori? She makes a lot of money and her house is almost like a mansion."

"Well, I don't keep all of it." He admitted. "I give some to your aunts to help them out." Oh great, they ended up on this subject. "But I guess that sounds 'weird' to you, doesn't it?" So Lyra had told him what Lemy said.

"Yeah…" He didn't expect a direct confrontation.

"I don't expect you to understand." His uncle told him. "I guess it is a little weird. But I like doing it. And they like me doing it."

"Yeah, well I don't care." Two people could be honest. "You can focus on them. I don't need it." Lemy was pretty sure Lyra had already been won over. Not surprising, considering how she felt about mom.

"You're probably right." His uncle admitted. Why was this guy so agreeable? "You already got Luna and your sister."

"Lyra-" Lemy's rebuttal died on his tongue. "Fine, you're right." He grumbled. Then he decided it was something to brag about. "I bet you can't name one thing you could do for us that Lyra can do for herself or for me."

"Well…" Lincoln thought for a moment. "I could help protect you guys. Keep you safe." Lemy snorted.

"We don't need an old man for that. I can watch out for Lyra and myself."

"Yeah, I noticed what you did at the arcade." His uncle mentioned. "When that boy started talking to your sister.

"Mom said I have to." Lemy puffed up his chest. A few months ago he'd thought about mixing up his wardrobe a bit. After trying on a wife beater (Lyra had called it a tank top but what did she know?), mom had mentioned how tough he looked. He'd insisted he was, and she'd said that was good because it meant he could protect both her and Lyra. There were all sorts of bad dudes in the world, she'd told him.

He'd seen mom get into plenty of arguments with other people while they were on the roads. And some mornings she'd have a black eye or something when she came home, something from either a party or a concert. The tour bus had been broken into once or twice, including just a couple of months ago. Lyra had been covering his ears a lot in the days after that because mom didn't miss a chance to go off on the phone or to anyone who'd listen about how pissed she was someone had made off with her knickers. Stuff and people like that. If mom left them somewhere, he'd say he was guarding wherever it was.

Lyra didn't like it when he did stuff like that though. Not that she every got into trouble with anyone. Again, a goody-two shoes. She'd push him behind her and quickly leave if it looked like there was going to be trouble of any kind. That included dragging him away or keeping him away from mom when she got into something. He'd still keep trying, just because mom said to.

Especially if his sister was thinking the same as their uncle and it kept her from buying into the idea.

"That kid didn't look bad to me." Lincoln remarked. No, he'd looked like a geek. But Lemy still didn't like him. 'Boys like pretty girls', mom had told him when he asked about the random people who'd talk to her sometimes. 'You can scare them off though'. Any time she'd kept him by her side, it didn't happen.

"Eh." Lemy shrugged. "Next."

"It's like I talked about earlier: I work and-"

"Mom's already gives us money and she's got you beat. She's rich and you live in a one-bedroom apartment. Even if you weren't giving money out she'd still have you beat." Lemy cut him off.

"Okay." He gave a strained smile. Lyra did that too, although hers looked angrier.

"You're a cool dude, but don't waste your time being something we don't need."

"Point taken." His uncle admitted as they reached the store. Lemy savored his victory as they walked in.

Like he'd told them, it was automated: basically, a whole bunch of giant vending machines where you inserted money and the door unlocked to let you grab what was behind it. Lemy saw a lot of them, and a lot where there was still someone behind the register you had to pay. Mom said a lot how surprised she was at how technology marched on.

They weren't the only people in the store, there was some guy there. Some fat, ugly, bald old dude with a gun on his hip who was taking money from the machines and putting it in a lockbox. He glanced back as they entered. "Well, it's you, Loud." He said in a harsh aged voice.

"Hey, Flip." Lincoln didn't look happy to see him. Flip? The guy who owned the store?

"Loud, you gotta be one of my most loyal customers." He laughed a disgusting and wet laugh. Then he noticed Lemy. "Since when have you had a kid?!"

"I don't. He's…" Lincoln took a moment to formulate his answer. "He's my nephew. Luna's his mom."

"Luna?" Flip seemed to be trying to remember. Then he looked surprised. "The dyke one? She had a kid? Well, who would've thought that!" He laughed. Wait, what did he just call mom?

"Yeah…" Lincoln gave another strained smile, only this one did seem angry. Fatty kept running his mouth.

"That makes you the only Loud without kids, don't it?" Before Lemy's uncle could answer that, Flip went on. "What, can't perform? I got stuff stocked for that. Only 10 bucks a pill!"

"Actually," Lincoln gave Lemy a shove towards one of the machines. "We're just getting some food and we should be getting back home." Lemy clearly got the sign to hurry up, and he agreed.

"Come back again soon, Loud!" Flip called as the two left with armfuls of snacks and drinks.

"Something about that dude rubs me the wrong way." Lemy borrowed another one of his mom's quotes.

"Yeah, Flip is a hard person to deal with." Lincoln shook his head.

"Are you really the only one in the family without kids?" Lemy asked. He'd noticed it before (heck, he'd been glad for the chance to not be annoyed by a girl cousin), but he had to admit there was a lot of novelty to the fact. Besides, maybe it had something to do with why he tried so hard with his nieces.

"Uhh…" He'd put his uncle on the spot. "I don't THINK I'm the only one. Lola and Lana might not have started families yet. No, I can't be the only one." He stated with confidence. "Lily can't possibly have any kids yet- she's only a few years older than your sister. She…she would've graduated High School last month." He suddenly realized, and his pace slowed. "Huh…"

"How come?" Lemy asked, keeping his uncle from reminiscing. Lincoln started walking normally again.

"How come?" He looked like he had to think about it for a moment. "I guess I just never found the right girl, you know? Never met that person to spend the rest of my life with." Lemy was reminded of what his sister said about committing, the type of thing his mom didn't do.

No, that couldn't be right. It had to have been both their dads' fault. THEY didn't want to commit to mom.

"Why'd Flip seem so surprised who my mom was? What's a dyke?"

"That," His uncle said with sudden found firmness, "is not something you should know at your age." He had two people telling him that now? Why couldn't he just get a straight answer?

"Whatever." Lemy didn't decide to spoil the good mood since they were almost home. He had snacks to eat and zombies to kill.

"So I noticed you keep dying to the two El Gigantes." His uncle commented about the boss fight that had been holding him up. "Did you know you can kill one without firing a shot?"

"No." Lemy answered. "But show me."

Later that day

Lyra had not had an easy day. She should've been over joyed. She'd gotten to go to an actual church service for once. She got to talk to both the clergy and some fellow Christians. She even got some information of Church functions for while she was still in town, or when she visited again.

And yet, she'd spent the entire time with a twinge of doubt behind her enthused smile. And when it was done and over she hurried back to her uncle's apartment. She still hadn't shaken her unease from yesterday's events. Lemy had never shown outright hostility or aversion to someone in their family before, so obviously she didn't want to leave him with said family member.

To her surprise though, she got home to discover them both on the couch, Lincoln coaching Lemy through a video game level.

She'd talked to her uncle yesterday after her conversation with Lemy, apologizing for his behavior and explaining her brother's aversion to the subject. He wasn't surprised or even worried.

"Yeah, your cousins were like that when they first met me too. It's not a big deal." Lyra didn't share his view and had said she'll deal with her brother for the rest of the day. He'd let her, but it was obvious he didn't think it was as big of a deal as she did.

Maybe he'd been right.

Her brother didn't act up or say anything for the entire day. It was like he'd completely forgotten the matter. Even if it worried her, she was glad not to have to discuss it again.

Lyra thought Lemy might've messed up his sleep schedule from the day before, because he ended up falling asleep early in the evening. She carried him to bed before returning the living room to see her uncle shutting off the game Lemy had been playing.

"You looked worried earlier when you came home. I told you there was nothing to worry about." He said as he sat back down. Even though she'd just put him in bed and closed the door, Lyra still checked the hallway before getting into the conversation.

"You were right." She conceded.

"He'll come around if and when he's ready. Like I said, your cousins took a while."

"I hope so." The more Lyra thought about it, the more she realized Lemy wasn't exactly hostile about the idea- he was just guarded on it like Lacy. Mom had to do more with how he'd acted than their uncle's actions. And even though she'd told her uncle yesterday she didn't think they needed it...well, like she'd told her brother: the idea was nice.

"We had fun today." He went on. Lyra nodded.

"I think he was angrier you separated him from our mom than he was what you were trying to be."

"I wouldn't blame him. Like I said, Luna was always the cool one. He's must think the same."

"Mhm…"

"You don't agree?" Her uncle asked.

"To be completely honest, no. In fact, I don't like how attached Lemy is to our mother. It's not good for him. It's not healthy."

"You admitted yesterday your mom wasn't that bad though." Lincoln sounded confused.

"She isn't." Lyra sighed. "But she doesn't belong on a pedestal like Lemy puts her. He doesn't know and understand everything. He just blindly follows her. I'm worried what's going to happen to him when he realizes that. Kids have a hard time dealing with learning something bad about their parents. It can badly affect them."

"…Can it?" Lyra completely missed the apprehension in her uncle's voice. She was caught up in her own thoughts.

"They do." She nodded. "I used to think our mother was perfect too. I remember…I still remember when I realized mom wasn't always going to be there. I remember when I learned exactly what she was doing at parties, and what it would do to her. What it MIGHT do to her. I was confused. I was worried. I thought I was a terrible person for thinking so ill of her. I felt sick to my stomach for the longest time. I don't want Lemy to go through that. I don't, but I'm not sure I can stop it."

"Well," Her uncle seemed posed to other more advice, then he grimaced, and it was clear he had no response to that. He'd already admitted his sister had her faults, so he had to know she was telling the truth. Even if it was for good intentions, how could someone change someone's view on a loved one?

"It's fine." Lyra told him. "It's something only I should worry about, anyway. I've still got a few years before it'll be an issue."

"Sorry…" Her uncle muttered.

"It's fine." Lyra said quickly. "Thank you for being understanding on all of this. But I think we should all focus on better things from now on."

"It's what I'm here for." He smiled. "Speaking of which," He looked thoughtful. "I still have to call Luan and ask if her and Liby are going to join us at the pool." He reached into his pocket for his phone. Lyra waited and watched the conversation unfold, at least from one end.

"Hey Luan. I'm good, how's show business? Glad to hear." He gave an unconvincing laugh. "I bet. Anyway, Lyra and Lemy are staying with me- no, I asked Luna if they could stay here. It's not weird. Look, anyway, the pool has half off on admission in two days. We're going with Lynn and Lacy and wanted to know if you guys wanted to come along. That's great! I'll have to check with Lynn, but knowing her it'll be right after they open. Alright. Yeah, I'll call you back tomorrow. Love you too. Bye."

"I assume they'll join us?"

"Yep." He smiled. "I just hope you guys are ready to deal with your aunt Lynn. She gets kind of crazy when it comes to pools." Oh, Lyra was very ready to deal with those antics and see her other aunt and cousin.

Anything as long as the matters of yesterday and today didn't come up again.